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I had a chance to travel from Teliarganj to ITI Naini in Allahabad district. There has been a pleasant improvement in the quality of the traffic and the communication. Five years ago, a person had to take a Tempo and there used to be 2 or three hops to reach the destination. The Buses not go directly from Shantipuram all way to Raymond factory in Naini.

The ticket between Teliarganj and ITI Naini was Rs. 15 which we can say to be priced right given the increase in the diesel and the petrol prices. The frequency of the bus has been good with one bus passing every 30 minutes or so. The average time is therefore around 15 to 30 minutes. Due to the increased frequency, there is ample space in the Bus and you will more often than not get a seat.

The Bus goes through two routes. One is via the Anand Bhawan route and the other is via Beli Road. Both routes take roughly the same time. The intermediate points may be of interest for you.

While traveling to Naini you will also get a glimpse of the picturesque new four way Bridge built on Naini. It replaced the older bridge which had become the bottleneck in the Naini to Allahabad traffic. There is an increase in the traffic between Jhunsi and Allahabad area and it was observed that the traffic coming from the City and Jhunsi created a bottleneck at the bridge on the City side. We are not sure how the traffic is going to be handled during the 2012 Kumbh mela in Allahabad.

If you do not want to stuck into the traffic, bike may be a good option. Traveling on bike is however not a pleasant experience with a lot of air, wind mixed with dust and pollution can make you tired and sick. It will however get you to the destination quicker.

If you have a car, you may want to use it, if you can afford. Financially this is a good way to go if you want a family or pleasure travel.

“Not everything that is in the government leads to failure.” This was the motto for lndia’s first public sector automotive company. And after the government exited in 2003, Maruti-Suzuki continued to win over millions and firmly established itself as the most successful car manufacturer in lndia. After the Maruti 800, their most triumphant flag bearer is the Alto lndia’s highest selling car for almost six years now. Selling an average of 20,000 units a month, the Alto is now recognized as a brand in itself. And now Maruti have just transformed the Alto by putting in their acclaimed BS4 compliant K10B engine. The 998cc K10B engine isn’t stranger to the market. lt drives the A-Star, the Zen Estilo and the new WagonR to their respective destinations. The F8D engine on the old Alto makes a very modest 46bhp.

The K10 generates 20 horses more making up for the old Alto’s lack of them. The massive increase in power doesn’t come at the price of fuel efficiency as Maruti-Suzuki claim it delivers a fuel efficiency of 20.2kpl. The 3-cylinder K10B rocks and rolls a bit at ignition and idle. But on being renewed it smoothes out and even lets out a pleasant rumble. The added power is also evident the moment you step on the gas. Like on the new WagonR, the cable type transmission makes shifting gears very comfortable. ‘ To accommodate the larger KI0B, the engine bay length has been stretched by about I 25mm. This increases the overall length of the car, but the wheelbase remains the same. The all-aluminium K10B engine weighs just about 7kg more than the existing F8D. So the overall kerb weight even with the increase in length is just 50kg more. Twenty more horses and an increase in weight of only 5Okg, mean the power-to-weight ratio has altered drastically in favour of power. And this has transformed the new Alto K10 into a little punchy rocket. The underpinnings have also been tweaked to accommodate the increase Alto continues to be nimble and the power assisted steering is also light. Push it hard and there is some understeer, but the overall handling is quite good and throwing this peppy baby around is real fun. Wider tyres would of course aid the handling further.

The styling of the Alto K10 has been worked upon and the increase in length also adds to its street presence. The new headlamps have the currently fashion- able eagle-eyed look, and the new wide grille complements the headlights nicely. The bumper also has wide vents to add aggression and the p-shaped taillamp give the Alto K10 a distinctive rear end.

Changes in the interior include a new three spoke steering wheel, amber illumination for the instruments and a new speedometer, tachometer and digital tripmeter. Some new storage spaces have been created and the upholstery material is also new.

Assuming Mahindra is able to acquire Ssangyong, what are we,, as car buyers, going to get in lndia? Well, the vehicle that we should get first could very well be the Ssangyong Rexton or the other bigger SUVs in the range. Though the one that we should eagerly wait for is Ssangyong’s newest, the C200 or the Korando C as it will, in all likelihood, be called. Unveiled for the first time as a concept at the 2008 edition of the Paris motor show, the C200 has evolved over the years to its latest incarnation – unveiled a few months ago ‘ at the 2010 Busan lnternational Motor shown – as the new Korando C concept with more aggressive styling claimed to be representative of the production version, the Korando C is a soft roader that could do very well in lndia if Mahindra – with their ‘frugal engineering – are able to bring costs down to under Rs l0 lakhs.

With an overall length of 4.4 metrics on a wheelbase of 2.65 metres the Korando C promises Honda CR-V kind of space and functionality in a slightly smaller vehicle that with its monocoque I body construction and Giugiaro design will leapfrog Mahindra into modern times – a vehicle with a more passenger car look, feel and comfort. performance wise, the Korando C looks great on paper: choice of powertrains inciude a ( new 2.O-litre turbo-diesel engine that , develops I 80bhp and 360Nm of torque, r other than a I.8 turbocharged petrol J with similar power specs. The tranny I options include an automatic and a six- I speed manual. The interior too is very modern and stylish. The platform is adaptable, and the chassis can be used for front-wheel drive and four-wheel-drive passenger cars. Extensive use of aluminium suspension components reduces weight and together with a low centre of gravity, ensures a comfortable ride with the kind of sharp and agile handling demanded by European drivers’
Though the Korando C was expected to be in Production late l45t Year’ Ssangyong’s bankruptcy seems to have aefayeO that, and in all likelihood the car will’be in production some time next year, so the availability for lndia may well be into later next year’ In the meantime, if the deal goes through’ we can expect Mahindra to launch the Rexton foi sure, mainlY as CKD assemblY’ Launched as a Daewoo waY back in 2002 (when Ssangyong was supplying the Rexton to Daewoo) the 4’72-metrelong Rexton is derived from the SsangYong Musso, with engines from Mercedes-Benz (either a choice of ‘ t ozbf,p 2.7 and 2’9 common rail diesels or a 217bhp 3’2-litre petrol)’ obviously for lndia we can very well expect Mahindra to bringin the 2’7 diesel. Alternatively, it just may be possible that the five/seven-seater Rexton may be launched in lndia with Mahindra’s own2.2 common rail unit.

The other body-on-chassis models in the range include the Kyron, the Actyon and the Rodius. The 4.66-metre-long Kyron is an old-fashioned SUV with questionable styling that was launched in 2005, then extensively revised in 2O07. Powertrains include a Merc-derived .. I41 bhp 2.0-litre diesel other than the same2.7 diesel and 3.2 petrol as in the Rexton. The r1.45-metre-long Actyon is the ‘sports activity’ version of the Kyron that wai launched in 2005, predating the ‘similar’ BMW X6 by two years. The Actyon Sports is a longer wheelbase twin-cab pick-up derivative of the Actyon. And the Rodius is an aesthetic challenging giant of an,MPV that has been around since 2004. We don’t expect Mahindra to bring in any of these to lndia, and neither do we expect them to bring in their suPer saloon, the Chairman, which ls 5.1 I metres (5.41 metres in long wheelbase form) and has been derived from the l99Os Wl 24 Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

The table below listing out the top car manufacturer’s figures could be an interesting one.

From India’s perspective Tata has the best chance to rank somewhere in top 10 in th near future. Mahindra & Mahindra is not far behind with a lot of mergers and associations.

Table : Ranking of Car Manufacturers by number of Vehicles sold

Manufacturer

Rank

Number of Vehicles Produced ( In 000)

Toyota

1

7,232

GM ( General Motors)

2

6,459

Volkswagen

3

6,067

Ford

4

4,685

Hyundai – Kia

5

4,646

PSA Peugeot Citreon

6

3,042

Honda

7

3,013

Nissan

8

2,745

Fiat

9

2,460

Maruti Suzuki

10

2,388

Renault

11

2,296

Daimler

12

1,448

CHANA Automobile

13

1,426

BMW

14

1,258

Mazda

15

985

Chrysler

16

959

Mitsubishi

17

802

Beijing AIG

18

685

TATA ( Includes Jaguar Land Rover)

19

672

DongFeng

20

663

FAW Group

21

650

Chery Auto

22

509

FUJI (Subaru)

23

491

BYD

24

428

SAIC-SSANGYONG

25

348

ANHUI Jianghuai

26

337

Zhejiang Gely

27

330

Brilliance ( excluding BMW)

29

314

AVTOVAZ

30

295

Great Wall Motor

31

227

Mahindra & Mahindra

32

223

Shangdong Kaim

33

169

Proton

34

153

China National

35

121

Volvo-Renault Trucks-Mack-US Trucks

36

106

Chongquing Lifan

37

104

Fujian

38

103

Kuozui

39

93

Shannxi Auto

40

79

Porsche

41

76

Ziyang Nanjin

42

72

GAS

43

70

Navistar

44

65

Auto Guangzhou

45

63

Paccar-DAF

46

59

Chenzhou Ji AO

47

51

Qingling Motor

48

50

Hebei Zhongxing

49

48

Ashok Leyland

50

48

Total Manufacturers

59,983

Other Manufacturers ( Not listed above)

1,783

Since not all the figures are available for the Calender year 2010, starredreviews has compiled the list from the calender year 2009 which gives a good picture of what is in store in future.

With the figures being so close, the ranking could change and by the end of this year it is quite possible that GM may be back at the top of the heap, regaining the number one position after a few years being dethroned by Toyota,which in turn have had their share of problems,from recalls to an earthquake in Japan. At the same time one must remember the Hyundai Kia is doing very well and when you combine the figures of Renault and Nissan,which are sister companies despite their so-called independent structures, their ranking could change the world order too.You may notice that Tata is ranked 19th in world. That could have changed despite the fact the Tata numbers are up singnificantly in 2010,as the Chinese carmakers are worth looking out for. Chana and Beijing are already ahead of Tata and a whole host of others like Dongfeng,FAW,Chery,etc ,are snapping at the heel. So, 2010 could change drastically.

The Country wise car production data during the year 1980 to 2009 gives out some interesting facts. Check out the number for the automobile industry in the various countries in 1980 and compare that to 2009.

Car production in Europe in 1980 was close to 12 million;by 2009 it had had gone up to over 15 million.Making the most of this growth has been Germany,Spain and Portugal.But more significantly it’s been the newer lower-wage countries from Central and Eastern Europe which have become significant carmakers; countries like Slovenia, Hungary,Poland and Turkey(which is not even in the European Union.) In North America the numbers went up,and than down,but in South America the car industry has seen both ups and downs. In Africa to the industry has really boomed. From a total of a little less than nine million cars mad in 1980,the Asia-Pacific region made as many as 25 million cars in 2009.